Platform lets SMBs offer free public wifi in exchange for user activity

Waffle is a Korean platform that lets cafes and other small businesses give their customers free public wireless in exchange for checking in with Facebook or Twitter or answering a short quiz or survey.

It may now be possible to get free wifi from vending machines in Japan, but in most parts of the world, it’s generally not that easy. Enter Waffle, a Korean platform that lets cafes and other small businesses give their customers free public wireless in exchange for simply checking in with Facebook or Twitter or answering a short quiz or survey. Now up and running at several franchises in Korea, according to a Seoul Space report, Waffle lets business owners offer customers an easy way to get free wireless while still monetizing the service for their own bottom line. Participating businesses can create their own, custom sign-in page for the service, even with versions localized for tourists from different parts of the world, as a Penn Olson report notes. Businesses can also run ads on the platform for extra revenue. Patrons, meanwhile, need only send a tweet, post an update on Facebook, take a quiz or watch an advertisement in order to get free wireless access at the venue. Waffle provides usage reports for businesses as well, allowing shops to see the service is being used. The video below explains the premise behind Waffle in further detail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK0riu7qZLg

Created by a Korean high school student, Waffle is reportedly now gearing up to create a citywide public wifi zone, and it’s also looking for global partners. In the meantime, its own official website is in the works. One to get involved in early in your neck of the woods? Spotted by: Katharina Kieck